A separate court but not separate justice

Aborigines appearing before a Koori Court are far less likely to reoffend. This is a good thing.

Little changes can make a big difference. Witness the example of Victoria's Koori courts, which began operating in late 2002.

The idea for a separate court for Aborigines grew out of recommendations from inquiries such as the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Bringing them Home, the report into the stolen generations.

The modest aim of the courts has been to administer justice in a setting that is, to quote the Magistrates Court website, "less culturally alienating" to Aboriginal offenders.

But it is somewhat misleading to describe a Koori court as a separate court.

The hearings are held on designated days in a regular courthouse - the magistrates courts in Broadmeadows, Shepparton and Warrnambool - but the law the courts administer is no different from the law in any other magistrates court.

The small adaptations made for the Koori community are telling and symbolic.

The magistrate sits at a table with everyone else, rather than at the bench.

An Aboriginal elder from the community sits at the table too, directly opposite the offender ("They find that scarier than any court, it confronts them with the consequences of their behaviour," says Aboriginal justice worker Daniel Briggs).

The offender's family and friends are also invited to the table and can make a contribution.

Most importantly, offenders are given an opportunity to talk themselves - about their past, why they broke the law and how they can make amends.

Since the courts were established they have dealt with 167 defendants, only nine of whom have reoffended.

This impressive result has led Victoria to plan the nation's first Children's Koori Court.

In making the announcement, Attorney-General Rob Hulls cited the Redfern riots as an example of what can go wrong "if the Koori community feels that it is disenfranchised".

But he did not need the spectre of Redfern to make his case: the statistics are bad enough.

Koori men are 12 times more likely to be imprisoned than the rest of the community, while imprisonment is 161/2 times more likely for Koori children.

And the recidivism rate for Koori juveniles is 65 per cent within two years of completing a juvenile justice order.

For young Koori offenders, a positive experience in a Koori court has the potential to be a life-changing experience.